The Mariners Got Weirder

...I...I give up, man.

The Mariners are just too weird for words. And not even like a fun-weird, like the Rays. This is just depressing weird.

You wanna know who's got the higher W.A.R. in Seattle right now? Tom Murphy, a backup catcher with 53 games and a .293 average under his belt. He's got a higher WAR than Marco Gonzales, Domingo Santana, Kyle Seager, Dee Gordon, and a bunch more people who've been around all season. That's how weird they are.

Not to discredit Marco Gonzales, who has been the rock of this shaky rotation. Even Yusei Kikuchi has been shaky as hell, and with Felix injured and everyone else in disarray, it's nice to have someone like Gonzales with a 13-10 record and a 4.30 ERA. It's not perfect, but for a last-place team, it'll definitely work.

You also have guys like Austin Nola and Tim Lopes who are doing impressive things off the bench, but...not enough of them. You've got Kyle Seager, who's come alive in the last few weeks. And you've got Daniel Vogelbach, who's hit 27 home runs. So...they still have SOME things going for them, but...they're still in last, in a division that will definitely be won by Houston, and will field a Wild Card successor in Oakland.

I keep hoping the Mariners will put it together eventually, but...I guess I just have to keep hoping.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of last place teams that were great at the beginning of the season...this one's got a great catcher...

Rise of the Punisher

Aristedes Aquino has played 18 games, and ALREADY he has accumulated 11 home runs, 22 RBIs, AND A SUPER AWESOME NICKNAME.

That takes skill.

However, the 25-year-old Aquino, who has been cooking in the Reds' minor league system for a little while, and hitting a ton of homers back there, is a fantastic fit for the Reds' lineup. The Reds spent the offseason carving out space for a big, strong power hitter, and made their lineup entertaining when Yasiel Puig was here. And then the trade happened, and...look, man, I'm of the opinion that the Reds didn't lose much in this trade. The Indians lost an ace, the Padres lost two major pieces...and the Reds lost a guy who was blocking an even better guy from taking the stage. They lose Puig, they get Aquino AND Bauer. Everybody wins.

Now the bad news is that despite Aquino's power heating up this lineup, the Reds have taken a dive in recent weeks, and are now 8 games out of the Wild Card spot. I'm not gonna say with confidence that they're out of the race, but 8 games is a wide margin, especially when you're dealing with teams like the Nationals. To say the Reds need to drum up some momentum is a vast understatement.

However, they've made a lot of really smart little moves lately. First of all, they plucked Freddy Galvis from Toronto, and he's been playing beautifully at 2nd, with 4 RBIs in 7 games. They also grabbed Kevin Gausman, and are using him in a relief role, which seems to be working well. And Bauer and Wood are just now beginning to gain some bite and lower their ERAs, which is nice.

I don't think this is a playoff team, but...this team's so fun that I kinda want them to succeed anyway.

Coming Tonight: For a shining moment, he was leading the league in a few pitching categories. Unfortunately, said shining moment was in April.

Finally, Another MLBer Named Bubba

Yeah, after 13 years we finally have another MLB player named Bubba. I was kinda missing those, and it brings me back to 2004, when you could have guys named Bubba and Chad and such on your team, and it'd totally be okay.

2004 is also a year that this Royals team is flashing back to, or really just the mid-2000s in general. The era where the Royals didn't have a shot to compete, but could be a little fun despite the blazing ineptitude. And having a guy named Bubba Starling as a premier homegrown hitter does harken back to the days of Matt Stairs or Calvin Pickering coming into KC and just hitting without a care for standings.

And that's what we've got. We do have some league talents, like Whit Merrifield, Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler, and we have some mildly amusing guys like Starling, Cheslor Cuthbert and Meibrys Viloria, but...other than that, it's all kind of a wash. The pitching is nonexistent, save for some good starts from Mike Montgomery and a great season of closing pitching from Ian Kennedy. The bench is scattered, as is the team now that players are in and out of the minors, and that Billy Hamilton's been dealt to Atlanta.

All that's really left in KC is just nostalgia for a team that was a competitor 4 years ago, and only has a few members left. And...Daffy Duffy's mediocre, Salvador Perez is hurt, and Alex Gordon had a big start but has looked very normal recently.

I hope Bubba Starling continues to be a good asset for Kansas City. I knew it took him a while to get up, and I'm glad he's making the most of it.

Coming Tomorrow- The Reds are sneaky as hell. They let Yasiel Puig leave, and make it look like they're vulnerable and don't have a viable replacement...but not only did they have one all along, but...he's AWESOME!

Big Fella, Bigger Problems

Ugh, what now with my hometown Philadelphia Phillies?

I mean, honestly, take your pick? Having an insane hot streak only to drop two to the Padres? Bryce Harper having his best week as a Philly and then getting pulled out for dehydration? Jake Arrieta deciding he'd rather just be horribly injured for about a year than help this team out? It's all just wonderful.

And then, when you start to look at this team, the people who were doing well start looking crappy by comparison. Rhys Hoskins is only batting .237? Aaron Nola's the only active opening day starter left that hasn't been shifted to the bullpen at some point? Even Scott Kingery and J.T. Realmuto have broken 100 strikeouts?

And yes, it's all well and good that Bryce Harper has turned things around, and is headed for a 30-HR/100-RBI season, which...is well-deserved. But the whole point of this deal was not for Bryce to be the only horse in this town. The whole point was for the pre-established team to help out with the oncoming contracts, and really only Aaron Nola, Cesar Hernandez and Hoskins have made any effort to do that. This is why the 2015 Padres failed, this is why the 2012 Marlins failed, this is why the 2013 Blue Jays failed- you can't add a bunch of contracts and expect them to automatically be compatible with an existing roster. That shit takes time! I don't care who the contracts are for!

And yes, it's nice that you get people like Jay Bruce and Andrew McCutchen to help out, but if they're gonna be injured for most the year, what's the damned point??

Good news is, as the Phils begin to bobble whether or not they're really pushing for a wild card spot, the former Rays duo of Corey Dickerson and Logan Morrison have rejoined, and are hitting like it's 2017. Both of those guys and Adam Haseley have been fantastic additions to an ailing lineup, while Jason Vargas has been solid in 4 starts, and the three bullpen additions of Mike Morin, Jared Hughes and Blake Parker, who were all arguably steals in my opinion, have all been consistently strong, something that has been a key missing ingredient to this year's Philly bullpen.

Will they pull it together? I kinda hope so, but...seeing as the NL Wild Card race also features two other NL East teams, and one of those teams is the Nationals...it's gonna be tricky.

Coming Tonight- More proof that the Royals have come 360 back to where they were around 2004- against all better judgment, they're starting a guy named Bubba.

Fine, Let's Talk About Vlad Jr.

So here's the weird part of the Blue Jays' lineup first.

Justin Smoak, at 32, is the oldest member of the lineup, and the oldest player on the active roster. He's a free agent next year, and I imagine he's rightfully getting out. At that point, the Jays' starting lineup will consist of a bunch of people under 28- Teoscar and Grichuk will be 27, Gurriel will be 26, Biggio, Jansen and Tellez will be 25, Bichette will be 22 and Vlad Jr. will finally be able to have a beer in the US. It'll be among the youngest lineups in baseball, and they'll be banking entirely on the youth movement that'll be taking full force this year.

...if said youth movement eventually spreads to the rotation, the AL East is gonna be in big trouble.

I mean, look at Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who the team's thinking will be the team's centerpiece, and already kinda is. In 93 games he's hit 14 homers, 54 RBIs and only 66 strikeouts. It's a solid, if quieter, debut for Vlad, who's been touted as a mega-prospect for years, and whose presence the farm system was even built around, let alone the roster. Now you have other sons of MLB legends, like Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio, joining the cause, and Bichette is just as impressive as Vlad, with that super crazy doubles record he set...which was dwarfed by Aristedes Aquino's HR record a few days later.

I honestly see this Jays team ending up looking a lot like the Astros- 3 or 4 guys coming up at around the same time who can all trade off leading the league in things, getting various awards and...yes, this may include another playoff run, I'm sad to say, but...knowing the way these guys can hit, I imagine it'll be a playoff run that's known early enough that it won't piss me off by coming up out of the blue in July (like the last 2).

I also foresee Vlad's 2020 season being even bigger than this one, and...seeing as people are hitting the ball out like never before (thanks Mr. Manfred), I imagine he'll lend his name to the HR leaderboard next year.

Coming Tonight: A hard-hitting first baseman for...a team that can't decide whether it wants to tank or attempt the WC run.

Margot Away

Really not much else to say about the 2019 Padres.

It's weird. Around April, we were all seriously thinking this team could do some damage right along with the Dodgers, but...that didn't exactly pan out. I feel bad for the Padres, because this is the second or third time the roster's been revamped in some way to make for a competing year only for things to fail miserably. Their average divisional standing this decade is 4th place. Their highest ranking was in 2010, when they came in 2nd place (somehow). So...what I am saying is the Padres haven't been good since they lost Adrian Gonzalez.

...which a lot of the fans would agree with, I think.

I mean, this roster has Manny Machado, Hunter Renfroe, and...well, they HAD Fernando Tatis for the first 3/4ths of the seasons, but after that injury they may not get him again til 2020. The Padres also have gotten a strong season from Manny Margot, despite him not hitting many home runs, and some power from Eric Hosmer despite a lot of strikeouts. But you look at what's NOT there...like Franmil Reyes, and Kinsler and Tatis with injuries, as well as Wil Myers' average. You have people on the bench like Josh Naylor and Francisco Mejia working, but...the two big prospects that were supposed to aid this team this year, Ty France and Luis Urias, aren't doing very well at all.

And the rotation, which was strong for a fleeting moment, has become a bit more haphazard than I'd hoped. As good as Chris Paddack and Joey Lucchesi can be, and as impressive as Cal Quantrill's rookie year has been, you still have meh stuff from Matt Strahm, Eric Lauer and Dinelson Lamet, though I will admit that Lamet is slowly getting better. The problem is that as impressive as a lot of these guys can be, they are, at the end of the day, at the mercy of their team's offenses. It's not like Luis Castillo or Jacob de Grom, who can defy any team no matter the run support.

The Padres have done everything they can, but...at the end of the day, at the end of the decade...they are still the San Diego Padres. And once again...the Padres don't mean much in the story of the season.

Coming Tomorrow- With the losses of three of his team's biggest performers, he instantly became the team's active WAR leader. In his rookie year, at age 20, he's leading his team in WAR. And he already placed second in this year's Home Run Derby. Tomorrow the world.

Yet Another Kole Train

Well, at the very least, this has been a very...interesting Los Angeles Angels team.

There's been a severe lack of stability here, let's be clear: three of their biggest stars, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons, missed a palpable about of time early in the season, only to return later on and...do their thing. Their biggest non-Trout offensive producer, Tommy La Stella, got injured right before his first ASG appearance, and has been ever since. Their best pitcher...died. They also literally don't have anybody on the roster with more than 20 starts, because all their opening day starters have either been released, demoted to the bullpen, got injured, or...passed away. I swear to god, if another Angels starter ends up getting into a gardening accident or spontaneously combusting, I'm gonna flip.

I mean, other than Griffin Canning, this is a very uneven rotation. Dillon Peters and Andrew Heaney are trying their best, but Patrick Sandoval is struggling right out of the minors, and a lot of other options are...hazy at best. At this rate, I'd prefer last year's rotation, where two guys would get injured right off the bat and at least everyone else would be concrete starters.

And then you have the catching thing, which is kind of hysterical. Whole season, they've had Jonathan Lucroy, who's been alright, and Kevan Smith, who was awesome backing him up, and then they add Dustin Garneau, who was pretty good as an extra catcher. Midway through they decide they're gonna go with Smith full time, so they DFA both Garneau and Lucroy; Lucroy gets an upswing in Chicago, Garneau gets nice playing time in Oakland. So the strategy seems like it'll be Smith starting and Max Stassi backing him up. Only...Smith gets injured. And now they have to start Max Stassi at catcher and have now gotten Anthony Bemboom, who was similarly DFA'd after backing up 3 other backups in Tampa, to back up Stassi. I'm kinda waiting for Stassi to land on the IL. The pitching AND catching are just revolving doors right now.

At least the rest of the lineup gives me hope. I mean, first of all, you have Mike Trout, who's gonna win another MVP this year. Don't act surprised, don't give me counter-stats...it's going to happen. I don't see anyone who can take it from him. You've also seen incredible come-ups from Luis Rengifo and David Fletcher, another strong season from Kole Calhoun, and a long-awaited starting performance from Brian Goodwin, the perennial backup outfielder. Simmons is injured again, and Wilfredo Tovar is filling in, albeit quietly, and recent veteran signings like Justin Bour and Zack Cozart haven't exactly worked out.

So...the Angels have the rest of the season to sort of bop around the middle of the AL West and hope they can get some stability in 2020.

Coming Tonight: The other Manny in San Diego.